Effective Governance Central to Unlocking the Potential of the Blue Economy
The global economy loses $50 billion every year as a result of poor management of global fish stocks. That figure doesn’t tell the full story of how overfishing, illegal fisheries and environmental degradation impact the livelihoods of coastal and riparian communities, particularly in developing states.
The importance of protecting the globe’s most important ecological assets
Every year, the United Nations Environment Programme celebrates the World Environment Day on 5 June to raise awareness about environmental issues, reflect on what has been accomplished and call for sustained action globally.
Collection: Benchmarking Foreign Direct Investment in Southern Africa
Foreign direct investment (FDI) has been a hot topic in South Africa, following the government’s unilateral cancellation of bilateral investment treaties (BITs) with the European Union and the release of the draft Promotion and Protection of Investment Bill. But what is FDI, and why is it important? What are the other issues at play in the region when it comes to investment?
What came first: the chicken or the leg?
On the sidelines of this week’s OECD meetings in Paris, South Africa’s Minister of Trade and Industry Rob Davies and US Trade Representative Mike Froman will try and overcome the protracted dispute between the two countries on chicken exports.
To Protect or to Intervene? Contesting R2P as a Norm in South Africa’s Foreign Policy
This policy insights paper contends that the ‘reaction pillar’ of the responsibility to protect (R2P) makes a specific statement about the residual responsibility of the international community to intervene when states are unable or unwilling to protect their citizens from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.
Food Safety in Southern Africa: rethinking world health worries
The theme for World Health Day, held on 7 April 2015, was ‘From farm to plate – make food safe.’ The main motivation for the theme was the alarming amount of bacteria borne diseases across the globe, transmitted by eating food which is contaminated by bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical substances.
Burundi crisis a key issue for the African Union summit
A few weeks ago, forces loyal to President Pierre Nkurunziza stymied a coup d’état in Burundi. A few months earlier, last October to be precise, the exact opposite occurred when an army officer in Burkina Faso, Lt Col. Isaac Zida, dislodged in a bloodless coup d’état West Africa’s former strong-man and president of that country, Blaise Compaoré.
Energetic Dialogues in South Africa: The Inga Example
Studies of major hydropower projects such as that at the Grand Inga Dam in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) stress generation capacity and call for regional integration.
Controversy Follows E-Tolls Although ‘User Pays’ Principle Looks Set to Stay
A new pricing model for the controversial electronic toll collection (e-tolling) on the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) was announced by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa last week, which will dramatically reduce user fees but link unpaid fees to driver’s licence renewals.
Preventive Diplomacy and the AU Panel of the Wise in Africa’s Electoral-related Conflicts
In recent years a spate of electoral-related conflicts in Africa has made the quest for ‘peace’ predominate electoral processes, especially in situations that hold substantial threats to peace and stability.